When Romeo Met Juliet
by The Last Letter
Summary: Maxine takes young Jake to meet Louise and Wyatt's new baby, Samantha.


Jake didn't want to go. "I don' wanna go!" He whined. He'd said it so much though, that no one bothered to pay him any attention. The three-year-old was sick of it. It wasn't that he didn't like Mr. Wyatt or Mrs Louise, or Miss Grace, they were always nice to him. Miss Grace always gave him cookies.

No, it was because Mrs. Louise just had a baby. Jake knew what happened when people saw babies. They turned to mush. It was all about that baby. And Mrs. Louise had a _girl_. Who wants a _girl_? He had brothers, and liked his brothers. He didn't want a 'sister' which is what Mommy claimed Mrs. Louise's baby would be like.

"Come now, Jakey." Maxine cooed, scooping her youngest son into her arms.

"Stay!" Jake exclaimed.

"Honey, I promised Louise that I would go over to see Samantha today. And I can't leave you here."

Jake pouted as his mother shuffled him into the car. He _was_ a big boy after all.

Maxine stopped in the Forster's driveway. Once out of the car, Maxine slung her purse over her shoulder, picked up her cookie tin, and unbuckled her son. "Now, Jake, this is for you to give to Sam, the baby."

She pressed a small box into his hand.

"What is it?" He wondered, clumsily trying to open it.

"A necklace," she told him, swatting his hands as he almost dropped the box. "Let's go in."

Jake sighed. He still didn't want to go in there. He still didn't want to see the baby. And he _certainly_ didn't want to give her anything.

Louise was already at the kitchen door when Maxine and Jake reached it. "She's still sleeping," she whispered.

_Good_. Jake decided. It meant that he didn't have to see the baby soon.

"I'll bet she's so adorable," Maxine gushed. Jake looked at his mother in disgust.

"She's just so little and perfect. I can't even imagine having another one because this one is so great." Louise giggled. "I can't wait until she grows up and we can have mother and daughter conversations like I used to love having with my mother."

Maxine allowed herself, and by extension Jake, who was being towed around by the arm, to be ushered into the living room by Louise.

"I hope little Samantha can bring some of those mothering conversations to me because I don't have any girls." Maxine caught sight of Jake's tiny pout, and realized how that must have sounded to her baby boy. "Not that I don't love my boys," she scooped up her youngest and dropped a kiss on his cheek before settling him in her lap, "but they're just so independent and self-sufficient. It would be so nice to have a little girl that _needed_ me."

Jake crossed his arms in annoyance. Not only were they only gushing about the baby when the baby wasn't even around, but Jake's mother wanted to be a mother to the baby too! The baby had Mrs Louise, who he was sure was a very nice mother. The baby didn't need his mother. And he hadn't even seen Miss Grace yet. A cookie would make all of this much easier for him.

A loud cry suddenly split the air, startling Jake. He tensed, curling toward his mother before he realized that it was the baby screaming.

"I'll go get her." Mrs Louise was smiling, which Jake didn't understand. The baby was still screaming.

And screaming.

And screaming.

And screaming.

The noise quieted to a dull wail. Then nothing. Jake heard footsteps coming toward the living room. Maxine quickly fussed over her son, making sure he had the necklace for Samantha still grasped in his pudgy toddler hands. Jake scowled at the box in his hands. What would a baby do with a necklace anyway?

When Louise reappeared, Maxine was quickly on her feet, bending and cooing over the bundle in her friend's arms. Jake crossed his own arms, hiding the box. It was embarrassing to hold. Mommy said it was his gift to the baby, but it really wasn't. He pretended not to be interested in Mrs Louise's bundle, but curiosity was getting the better of him. He'd never actually seen a real baby before, being the youngest in a long line of brothers. So, when Mommy beckoned him over to see the baby, Jake went to her side, even if he did take his sweet time doing it.

When Jake bent over the bundle, he realized his first assumption was right; there was nothing special about the baby. It was just a little person that couldn't talk and cried all the time. Still, there was something about the baby. Her eyes were really big and really green, just like Mrs Louise's. Her hair was bright red too, which surprised Jake. He thought babies were bald. The baby made a crying noise when she saw him, her big eyes getting even wider.

"Say hi to Samantha," Maxine nudged her son. He gave her a withering look. She understood it. He was asking her why he should talk to the baby when it was a baby? "Why don't you give Samantha your present?"

"You brought Sam a present?" Louise prompted, grinning. "Aw, Jake, how sweet of you."

Jake didn't want to be called sweet. Boys weren't sweet. Boys were tough. But, he held out the necklace box like his mother expected him too.

"Open it up Jake," Maxine urged.

Jake did as he was told, peering at the gold locket that was in there.

"Oh, it's so beautiful," Louise gushed. "I'm sure she'll love that and wear it all the time when she's older."

Samantha's arm waved wildly, her small hand coming to rest on the one Jake had outstretched to show Mrs Louise the locket. Jake looked down at her pale hand against his dark skin, and then looked into the big green eyes. Samantha's baby lips curled into what could only be a smile. And even though there was nothing special about a baby, Jake couldn't help but smile back.

**Well, I'm rereading **_**The Phantom Stallion**_** so why not write something? I don't own **_**The Phantom Stallion.**_

**~TLL~**


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